Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, September 23, 2009
Media Ideology Today
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 8:34 AM
This image is on the main page of Seattle Time's website...
But there is another way of reading the image. It's all about the pleasure of seeing something new. It's more interesting (and therefore more pleasurable) to see a black boy doing science than to see a white boy (or Asian boy) doing the very same thing. The interesting thing about it (and the source of the pleasure) is it's so unusual, so unexpected. This unexpectedness makes the image stick out, and an image that sticks out is always better than one that does not stick out, that is much the same as many other images. The main purpose of photography is to catch the eye; a black boy doing science catches the eye.
2
My boss at the UW just helped orchestrate the obtaining of an NSF grant called the Pacific Northwest Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in STEM fields to encourage this very thing. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleID=…
3
look, if we are ever going to get past the issue of race then people like you need to stop bringing it into EVERY FUCKING THING. this kid is just a student, and maybe (gasp) it's just a picture of students in a science class. you'd probably be bitching if they focused on a white student too.
4
There's also a white boy there, Charles. Being shoved out of the center of the picture by the black boy.
What subliminal message do you think the photographer is sending?
What subliminal message do you think the photographer is sending?
5
Funny, my first thought was, "Why did we not have cool shit like this when I was in elementary school?"
6
I've seen this image for years....have you been living in a cave Charles? Or just the cave of your own mind?
7
It is possible that any of the students in that picture have been influnced by one of the most eloquent spokesman for sciene and skepticism today, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGras…
Tyson credits the late Carl Sagan for influncing his own interest in science (same for hundreds of other young scientists) and Tyson in turn is now filling Sagan's shoes as a popularizer of science
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGras…
Tyson credits the late Carl Sagan for influncing his own interest in science (same for hundreds of other young scientists) and Tyson in turn is now filling Sagan's shoes as a popularizer of science
8
@7: Listening and watching him on TV and in documentaries was one thing that inspired me to be excited about astronomy and cosmology. I filled my days and nights with reading Sagan, Shoemaker, Chandrasekhar, Levy and Lowell.
Thank god the education system in Texas snapped me out of that dream.
Thank god the education system in Texas snapped me out of that dream.
9
Different strokes, I guess. I don't know how you can survive (or take seriously) a world where _everything_ is Fraught With Greater Meaning (That I Can Spot!).
Like Reg, and to a lesser extent taint, I didn't see any of what you did, and you still assert it like some greater Truth. I respectfully disagree.
Like Reg, and to a lesser extent taint, I didn't see any of what you did, and you still assert it like some greater Truth. I respectfully disagree.
15
Hell, I'm just pleased as punch to see fourth-graders doing science at all. I don't care if they're purple.
17
I see it as: The black kid is a cute kid. The white kid next to him is sort of funny-looking and making a weird face. Clearly the more-photogenic one gets top billing.
18
I used to work at a mostly white, suburban private school and l recall overhearing several conversations among the enrollment staff along the lines of "Did you get a picture of and " and "Let's put and her friends on the cover." My favorite comments was "Don't use that picture of wearing the bandana. It makes her look like a gangster" (about a 3rd grader).
19
I see 5 kids in that picture. Only one is white. Maybe he took a picture of a black kid doing science because the scene was of a a class that is predominantly minority kids doing science. What's the racial/ethnic make-up of that school?
20
Nice post, Charles. Channeling Roland Barthes lets a viewer get beyond merely seeing a photograph; images are constructed, have meaning(s), and can be read like any other text. In this text, the studium is a black child learning science. The punctum is the shattering of a visual stereotype (white scientist in lab coat).
22
if this was a white kid doing science, would the underlying meaning be that black kids can't do science? would it mean that every kid not represented in a seattle times photo can't do science?
23
This is nothing new. Or, have we forgotten about George Washington Carver trying to play a phonograph record with a peanut, while Edward "Skippy" Williamson and Frederick "Jif" Armstrong stole his ideas?
24
Charles, look at the annual report for the school:
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/siso/…
Demographics from highest percentage to lowest: Hispanic, African American, Asian, White, Native American.
There's your answer.
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/siso/…
Demographics from highest percentage to lowest: Hispanic, African American, Asian, White, Native American.
There's your answer.
25
You got this one right (although your explication was a bit more suited to one directed at 4th-graders). In a practical sense, while the impulse of the photographer may distort reality, it is for the best.
27
the picture would have been better if there was an Asian-American, and Indian-American, an African-American, a Caucasian-American, a Hispanic-American, and a Native-American, with an equal mix of boys, girls, and intersex children.
28
Personally I am offended by the fact that there are two boys in the foreground, while the two girls are relegated to the background. This clearly sends a message that girls can't (or shouldn't!) do science. I have half a mind to write a strongly worded letter
30
Despite Charles' apparent amazement, it's really not all that uncommon for kids (of any race) to do science. Must we really look for racial overtones in absolutely everything? Fact is, those are American kids doing science. That should be all the explanation necessary. Anything else would be indulging the embarrassing prejudices of the observers, including Charles himself.
31
walk into my (or any other science teacher's room in any metropolitan area) and you'll see black boys (and girls) doing science every day.
honestly, charles, you need to get out more and stop living in your head.
honestly, charles, you need to get out more and stop living in your head.
32
@27 and 28, Now, now, you two. If there's anything we've learned from this whole Caster Semenya debacle, it's that we can't judge a person's sex by looks alone. Those two in the front could be girls and the ones in the back boys... Or any of them could be intersex...
36
@30 & 31
I think the point Charles was trying to make was about the IMAGE of the scientist. Regardless of who is actually doing science in our classrooms, a google image search of "scientist" produces images very different from the picture Charles posted.
I think the point Charles was trying to make was about the IMAGE of the scientist. Regardless of who is actually doing science in our classrooms, a google image search of "scientist" produces images very different from the picture Charles posted.
37
Dear Stranger,
Please fire Charles Mudede. He is as insightful as Glenn Beck, and every bit as crazy.
Thank You,
Seattle
Please fire Charles Mudede. He is as insightful as Glenn Beck, and every bit as crazy.
Thank You,
Seattle
38
Way to hate on the two non-white girls doing science in the background.
News flash: most new scientists are women, not men.
News flash: most new scientists are women, not men.
39
If you're interested in the confluence of race and academic achievement in Seattle, take a look at this interactive map. It would take much more than a Slog post to discuss it.
http://mapgap.net/map.html
http://mapgap.net/map.html
40
Look at the other students at the event in the Seattle Times gallery. Charles would have been upset with any of those pictures it seems. Woman instructor, lots of non-white boys and girls doing science...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/ph…
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/ph…
41
Wish I could edit that—there's much more than race on this map. Money's on the map, and it's a big factor. No mention of fat PTA bankrolls, multilingual immigrant kids, etc. So it's a snapshot, and snapshots miss the details. Still interesting and a tad shocking.
42
Lets just pretend that there was a camera randomly shooting pics of the kids, and those pics randomly used by the Seattle Times. And that 40% of the kids in the classroom are black. This would mean that 40% of the time Mudede can claim there are racial undertones. I am white, and honestly, I had no thought at all of race when I saw the picture. Perhaps the message is just kids doing science in this cool science bus. And it is a nice message, until Mudede tosses this red herring. If the message is just the simple one, maybe the picture was used cause it shows the kids with inquisitive expressions on their faces while they hold the tubes. Charles, perhaps you should turn all this reflection inward and analyze why you view the picture as a photo op using a token black kid...
43
This was my class and I wanted to weigh in on this article. This is not just a BLACK BOY doing science as your article states. I have a very diverse class with more than 14 languages in 25 students. This was an amazing opportunity for my school to be apart of the 1st Science Adventure Bus, and to think that all you got out of this was a Black boy doing science? I'm just missing the purpose of your writing? I feel disappointed by this article...
47
Being a mexican/something/whatever but mostly mexican.. I take offense to the fact that the mexican girls are in the back of the photo. Actually I don't. My first thought was pretty much the same as others "oh wow I wish I could've had a science lab on wheels." I didn't notice the colors until I read mudede's paragraph.
48
44! Yes sir! We are doing great things here and this article kind of took the wind from my sails... My class looks like the mini-United Nations! ha ha, I'm happy to see people feel the way felt. Take care people and support your local elementary schools!
Mr. S
Mr. S
49
Let's be honest, people... the only racist I see in this situation is the photographer for the Seattle Times. (insert sarcasm here)
50
@44, Yes, @43 is "for real"-- he's the teacher of those students and he's "for real" when he says your article is missing a purpose. Your "writing" is a disappointment to all who read print media as well as a disappointment to those who support public schools. Perhaps you should educate yourself a bit more before you decide to make it an issue on race.
51
Holy shit, guys, have you seen the experts on NOVA?
They're a completely chequered bunch. Scientific genius cares not about race, religious roots or gender. (Or as the recent news on Turing points out, sexual orientation).
They're a completely chequered bunch. Scientific genius cares not about race, religious roots or gender. (Or as the recent news on Turing points out, sexual orientation).
52
Dear Stranger,
Please fire Charles Mudede. He is a blithering idiot. And a race-baiting jackass to boot.
Thank You,
Seattle
Please fire Charles Mudede. He is a blithering idiot. And a race-baiting jackass to boot.
Thank You,
Seattle
53
This photo is about a group of young students learning about science. As many commenters have pointed out, scientists are a diverse bunch, as are science classes.
But this is ALSO a photo about race. In spite of the diversity in the scientific community, the image of the heroic white male scientist in a lab coat is a visual archetype in our culture; this photo both references that archetype and speaks against it. I think that is the progress to which Charles refers.
But this is ALSO a photo about race. In spite of the diversity in the scientific community, the image of the heroic white male scientist in a lab coat is a visual archetype in our culture; this photo both references that archetype and speaks against it. I think that is the progress to which Charles refers.
55
he has a good point... just could have used a little more refining
the media is feeding you ideas when you don't realize it. this shit isn't chosen at random.
the media is feeding you ideas when you don't realize it. this shit isn't chosen at random.
57
Charles,
Actually that's the exact same reaction I had when I opened up my morning paper. Indeed, I agree with you. Clearly, its a better image than having a mug shot of a black man. That said, it remains problematic both the display of the photo and our reaction to it. I noticed too on the Seattle Times newspaper boxes round town that an image of a handsome black man in a suit is reading the paper. Another positive image. I am all for it. But, the ST editors know exactly what they are doing. Each Front Page image comes with caveats for better or for worse. Alas, racialization in America remains as our reactions indicated.
Actually that's the exact same reaction I had when I opened up my morning paper. Indeed, I agree with you. Clearly, its a better image than having a mug shot of a black man. That said, it remains problematic both the display of the photo and our reaction to it. I noticed too on the Seattle Times newspaper boxes round town that an image of a handsome black man in a suit is reading the paper. Another positive image. I am all for it. But, the ST editors know exactly what they are doing. Each Front Page image comes with caveats for better or for worse. Alas, racialization in America remains as our reactions indicated.
58
WHAT THE FUCK CHARLES!? Why do you have to make EVERYTHING about race? This has ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY *NOTHING* to do with race!
You pull the damn race card every chance you get and its getting OLD. *YOU* are the ignorant one here!
I HOPE THE STRANGER COMES TO THEIR SENSES AND FINALLY FIRES YOU.
You are just as bad as the teabaggers... except I think you have a resentment against WHITE people in general. THERES MORE TO LIFE THAN SKIN COLOR and your attempts at making EVERYTHING about race is just PATHETIC!!
You pull the damn race card every chance you get and its getting OLD. *YOU* are the ignorant one here!
I HOPE THE STRANGER COMES TO THEIR SENSES AND FINALLY FIRES YOU.
You are just as bad as the teabaggers... except I think you have a resentment against WHITE people in general. THERES MORE TO LIFE THAN SKIN COLOR and your attempts at making EVERYTHING about race is just PATHETIC!!
61
Did you really just highlight the race of a kid in a photograph for a reason I can't even begin to comprehend? Really? :|
How... unnecessary. I never even considered it I found this article. Until then it was just a child, like all the other children with him on the trip, each of them simply a person with various characteristics that make them the sum of something greater than their individual parts. Or something poetic like that.
Whatever, it's midnight, I'm tired.
How... unnecessary. I never even considered it I found this article. Until then it was just a child, like all the other children with him on the trip, each of them simply a person with various characteristics that make them the sum of something greater than their individual parts. Or something poetic like that.
Whatever, it's midnight, I'm tired.
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